On the vision of industry transformation, the area of activity and the most important competencies of the new ministry, which is based in Katowice, we talk to Marzena Czarnecka, Minister of Industry, professor at the University of Economics in Katowice.
At one conference in 2022, you said „I have a dream,” having in mind the Ministry of Industry in the Silesian province, and that dream came true… How does it feel?
Joy, pride, hope, that the huge potential of our region – the industrial heart of Poland – has been understood, the region’s rank in the country and Europe has been raised. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s decision to locate the Ministry of Industry in Katowice gives us a unique opportunity to show that we Silesians and Zagłębie people have high and sought-after competencies. We live in a place where unique value is created by the intertwining of industry and economy with technological, scientific and research development and traditional work ethos. I am a Silesian, and I am never ashamed of it. On the contrary: I want to convince that the road from Katowice to Warsaw is exactly the same as in the opposite direction, and that it is worth traveling!
What is the ministry’s area of activity and core competencies?
Contrary to popular belief, the Ministry of Industry in Katowice will deal not only with miners and metallurgists, not only with coal and steel. We are starting with matters grouped in the government administration department called „management of mineral deposits,” while as a result of an amendment to the law on departments, the ministry will take over all competencies related to energy resources: coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear or hydrogen power. My vision of the transformation is precisely from coal to nuclear. In these areas, the ministry will be responsible for state policy, regulatory projects and oversight, as well as for the distribution of the huge funds allocated to support the energy transition.
During the inauguration of the new government administration unit, you mentioned that „the main investment is in people.” What does that mean?
Our actions in politics or government administration make sense insofar as they serve citizens. People, their fate, also determine the meaning of economic endeavors. At the inauguration of the Ministry of Industry in Katowice, I also said a second thing: that deep in my heart I have the goal that, thanks to our efforts at the ministry, people in the region and the country as a whole will have a better life. After all, this is why we are making the difficult transformation of industry and energy. The most important thing for me is that after the mines are closed, people will still have good, attractively paid jobs. And this is not just about the tens of thousands of miners, but additionally about the hundreds of thousands of people who today function around mining and thanks to mines, in production or services, and their families.
Will you listen to the voice and opinions of entrepreneurs who drive the country’s economic growth?
This is a rhetorical question!? I don’t need to be convinced how decisive business people, entrepreneurs are for successful economic as well as social development. I am fully aware that the energy and economic transformation, which is the subject of my mission at the Ministry of Industry, cannot succeed without the support of both large companies and strategic companies, as well as those smaller, but very numerous, from the sector of Small and Medium Enterprises, craftsmen or traders. Since my first day in the building on Powstańców Street in Katowice, I have been trying to meet as often as possible with representatives of various groups and environments, precisely in order to learn directly about their opinions, assessments, pains, needs and demands. At the Ministry, we are responsible, among other things, for drafting regulations that will affect my interlocutors. We support them in solving their current problems. State policy should be a help to them, not a burden. Without listening carefully to the voice of entrepreneurs, I could not work effectively.
Interviewed by Jaga Kolawa, Editor-in-Chief of „Business HUB”
Minister Marzena Czarnecka will take part in the „Industry in Transition” conference organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Katowice – April 15 at the International Congress Center in Katowice.